Bottom Line:
In this paper, we present a technique for increasing the strength of thermoplastic fused deposition manufactured printed parts while retaining the benefits of the process such as ease, speed of implementation, and complex part geometries.By carefully placing voids in the printed parts and filling them with high-strength resins, we can improve the overall part strength and stiffness by up to 45% and 25%, respectively.We then show three-point bend testing data comparing solid printed ABS samples with those strengthened through the fill compositing process, as well as examples of 3D printed parts used in real-world applications.

Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present a technique for increasing the strength of thermoplastic fused deposition manufactured printed parts while retaining the benefits of the process such as ease, speed of implementation, and complex part geometries. By carefully placing voids in the printed parts and filling them with high-strength resins, we can improve the overall part strength and stiffness by up to 45% and 25%, respectively. We discuss the process parameters necessary to use this strengthening technique and the theoretically possible strength improvements to bending beam members. We then show three-point bend testing data comparing solid printed ABS samples with those strengthened through the fill compositing process, as well as examples of 3D printed parts used in real-world applications.

pone.0122915.g012: Images of testing setup on an Instron Testing system to measure failure loads of the robot finger proximal joint (left) and a simple robot wheel (right).

Mentions:
The overall strength of the samples was tested using a modified three-point bend fixture. For the proximal finger link, a load was placed on the distal end of the proximal linkage and applied until failure. The wheel strength was tested by applying a load to the center axle against a flat plate. All three sample types were oriented in the same spoke angle during the test as illustrated in Fig 12 (right).

pone.0122915.g012: Images of testing setup on an Instron Testing system to measure failure loads of the robot finger proximal joint (left) and a simple robot wheel (right).

Mentions:
The overall strength of the samples was tested using a modified three-point bend fixture. For the proximal finger link, a load was placed on the distal end of the proximal linkage and applied until failure. The wheel strength was tested by applying a load to the center axle against a flat plate. All three sample types were oriented in the same spoke angle during the test as illustrated in Fig 12 (right).

Bottom Line:
In this paper, we present a technique for increasing the strength of thermoplastic fused deposition manufactured printed parts while retaining the benefits of the process such as ease, speed of implementation, and complex part geometries.By carefully placing voids in the printed parts and filling them with high-strength resins, we can improve the overall part strength and stiffness by up to 45% and 25%, respectively.We then show three-point bend testing data comparing solid printed ABS samples with those strengthened through the fill compositing process, as well as examples of 3D printed parts used in real-world applications.

Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present a technique for increasing the strength of thermoplastic fused deposition manufactured printed parts while retaining the benefits of the process such as ease, speed of implementation, and complex part geometries. By carefully placing voids in the printed parts and filling them with high-strength resins, we can improve the overall part strength and stiffness by up to 45% and 25%, respectively. We discuss the process parameters necessary to use this strengthening technique and the theoretically possible strength improvements to bending beam members. We then show three-point bend testing data comparing solid printed ABS samples with those strengthened through the fill compositing process, as well as examples of 3D printed parts used in real-world applications.